Origin of the name:
The origin of the word emerald comes from the Old French word esmeraude, from Latin smaragdus, from Greek smaragdos, meaning “green, green” (emerald, malachite).

Etymology:Because of its intensive “green shades” the emerald in many cultures was the symbol of eternal spring, immortality and personal development. It is believed that an emerald has a power to sharpen wit and to soothe the soul. It was proven that an emerald is not a cure for physical and mental problems. However, people still use it for these purposes.
The ancient Romans associated the emerald with fertility and rebirth. This gemstone was dedicated to Venus, who was their goddess of love and beauty.
In many legends emeralds were referred to as the stones of power and diplomacy.

History:The history of Egyptian emeralds dates back to 4000 BC. The Egyptians used to engrave emeralds with deciduous trees symbolizing eternal youth. For a long time Egypt was the main source of emeralds and not until the 16th century, when the Spanish Conquistadores arrived in South America. The located emerald mine in Muzo, near Columbia and discovered emeralds of breathtaking size and beauty. The Egyptian monopoly on the world supply of emeralds was over. The Spaniards seized the mine, enslaved the local people and started shipping the fine emeralds to Europe and Middle East. Delicately sculpted emeralds were already in the jewellery collections of the Ottoman Turks, the Persian Shahs and even the royalty of India.

Colombian emerald
Colombian emeralds are known for their clear green color and extremely high quality. There are three historically important deposits of emeralds in Colombia.

Muzo Colombian emerald
This emerald is named after its mining site, the Muzo district in Colombia. These emerald mines are considered some of the finest Emerald mines in the world.

Coscuez Colombian emerald
These emerald crystals represent a wider range of color. However they also contain many inclusions.

Chivor Colombian emerald
These emeralds are best known for their blue tinge. They also contain inclusions. Chivor Colombian emeralds are brighter than the Muzo or Coscuez emeralds.

Brazilian emerald
These emeralds are known for their color variety from light green to dark-blue green. These emeralds were found in Brazil in 1963.

Russian emeraldThe Russian emerald was found near Ekaterinbug in roots of a fallen tree by the forest worker Maxim Stefanovitch Kozhevnikov in 23rd of January, 1831. In the 19th century Russian emeralds were the “property of the Russian crown” and although mined continuously since 1832 these gems were not commercially exploited. During the period of 1898-1916, the “New Emerald Company” exported over 40 million cts of Russian emeralds.

Zambian emerald
The quality of these emeralds is very high. These gems are easy to love and worth seeking out for their deep tones, clarity and generally lower prices.